


Fidget

by JohnAmendAll



Category: Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: Flash Fic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-17
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-31 01:14:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3958936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JohnAmendAll/pseuds/JohnAmendAll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lie back, relax, and let the monster come to you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fidget

**Author's Note:**

> For an LJ writing meme. Prompt from [Liadt](http://archiveofourown.org/users/liadt/): _the monster - Four/Romana_
> 
> Inspired by hearing Lalla Ward say that when asked which was her favourite monster, she would usually reply 'Tom Baker'. To the point where audiences expected her to say it, and were disappointed when she didn't.

The hour was sufficiently late that any reasonable person — in particular, the people living in this mansion — ought to be asleep in bed. Time Lords, of course, had different ideas about reasonableness. 

"You think it'll attack tonight?" Romana asked. She had changed into the nightdress her hosts had provided, and was sitting up in the double bed, but showed no signs of composing herself for sleep. 

"If it's got any sense it will." The Doctor was sitting in a chair on the far side of the room, concealed from view by an elaborately-decorated screen. "And it ought to follow the scent trail to this room." 

"Fair enough." Romana gripped the sonic screwdriver in her hand. "We'd better turn the light off, hadn't we? Let it think we're asleep." 

She reached out to the bakelite bulb that dangled by its wire from the ceiling, and pushed the button on it. Darkness fell, and silence, broken only by the sound of regular breathing. 

"Don't do that," Romana said, presently. 

"Don't do what?" the Doctor said. 

"Knit. I know you're doing it — I can hear the needles. Why are you knitting, anyway?" 

"You never know when a spare scarf might come in handy." 

"Well, it's distracting me." 

"I thought you wanted to be sure you didn't doze off." Nevertheless, the Doctor meekly wrapped up his incipient scarf, needles and wool, and pushed them into a pocket of his coat. 

It was five minutes later that Romana said "Are you reading a book?" 

"Of course I'm reading a book." 

"Braille, I suppose." 

"Yes. How did you know? I made sure I wasn't making a noise turning the pages." 

Romana sighed. "You were arguing with the author. Is it that new one by Oolon Colluphid? You always argue when you read his books. That's when you don't just throw them across the room." 

"Well, he deserves it." The Doctor had long since abandoned any attempt to keep his voice down, and was talking as if in a normal conversation. "The man's a transparent nitwit and his books only sell because other idiots try to get them banned." 

"Shhhh!" Romana hissed. "You'll wake everyone up." 

"All right, all right." 

Romana had no sooner closed her eyes again than the book hit the wall just above her head, with sufficient force that she was surprised it didn't bring the wall down. 

"What was it this time?" she asked, keeping her voice calm and level. 

"He just presented his proof that the Osirans never existed," the Doctor replied. "I've never read such nonsense in my lives." 

"I thought you said you'd met an Osiran." 

"Exactly. But Osirans don't fit into whatever theory he's pushing today, so they've got to be disproved." The Doctor jumped to his feet. "I've a good mind to write him a strongly-worded letter." 

"But perhaps now isn't the best time to do that?" Romana said patiently. 

"Possibly not." The Doctor sat down again. "As you were, then." 

All too soon, Romana found her attempts to settle down and at least feign slumber were once more frustrated — this time, by a regular whizzing noise. She reached for the light switch, and snapped it on, to reveal, just as she'd expected, the Doctor's yoyo zipping through the air and returning to his hand. Without a word, she gathered up her bedding, and made her way to the door. 

"Are you going somewhere?" the Doctor asked. 

"Yes," Romana said, trying to keep her voice lighthearted. "I'm going to wait in the corridor." 

"Is there something wrong with the bed?" The Doctor leaned forward with concern. "Has your hot-water bottle sprung a leak?" 

"No, it hasn't, because I don't have a hot-water bottle." Romana opened the door. "If anything tries to eat me I'll let you know." 

"You're taking a big risk." The Doctor shook his head sententiously. "Why not just wait here with me?" 

Romana had been about to close the door behind her, but she turned back. "Because whatever's out there, being eaten by it can't be half as bad for my patience as spending the night with you."


End file.
